EU certification for universal release agent
The universal release agent Divinol SYN BE Plus has been awarded the EU Ecolabel, recognized throughout Europe. In Germany, the release agent had been previously distinguished with the German “Blue Angel” mark for its environmental and human compatibility. Building on this achievement, Zeller + Gmelin, the mineral specialist from Eislingen, in Germany, will now tap new European markets.
In Germany, the universal release agent already now enjoys great response in the market and is used in the most diverse variety of applications. Divinol SYN BE Plus, for example, is used in all standard formwork for building construction and civil engineering: for non-absorbing and low-absorbing formwork (phenolic-resin form fabric, among others) as well as for all-plastic and plastic-coated form fabrics. It can also be used with heated formwork. Since its market launch, the product has been used with great success: in particular, in the manufacture of concrete pipes, manhole cones and paving blocks.
EU Ecolabel for outstanding environmental and human compatibility
The EU Ecolabel, an environmental labelling scheme introduced by EU regulation, has evolved to become a recognized reference for consumers and is intended to encourage purchase of environmentally compatible products for reducing environmental pollution. Concrete release agents, in particular, are inevitably introduced into the environment in connection with so-called loss lubrication, which occurs in the use of concrete formwork in building and underground construction. Aspects such as biodegradability and avoidance of constituents harmful to health are becoming increasingly significant, especially in areas of the construction industry where people come in direct contact with certain substances.
”The increasing demand for Divinol SYN BE Plus shows us to what degree aspects like these are gaining significance in selecting a release agent,” says the Zeller+Gmelin Product Manager Wolfgang Kienle. “Award of the EU Ecolabels,” he continues, “is an important acknowledgment of satisfying the strict requirements for humans and environment, also on a European level.“ We are therefore very pleased about this distinction, which makes us the only manufacturer and international supplier of concrete release agents to be awarded both the Blue Angel and the EU-Ecolabel.”
High concentration of regenerative raw materials
Accordingly, Divinol SYN BE Plus is a readily biodegradable concrete release agent. The percentage of regenerative raw materials is 93 %. The non-water mixable solventless Divinol SYN BE Plus just recently satisfied the strict approval procedures of RAL-UZ 178 valid throughout Germany for “biological biodegradable lubricants and hydraulic liquids.”
The universal release agent is insensitive to frost and can therefore be used in any weather on the construction site. The product, moreover, when applied, does not come into direct contact between the formwork and the concrete surface, enabling convenient release. Damage to the concrete surface is in this way prevented and costly reworking is not necessary. “That has the essential advantage of prolonging the lengths of service data of the formwork and in this way enhancing general cost efficiency,” sums up Product Manager Wolfgang Kienle.
“That is why the long-established company from Eislingen is currently pushing more internationalization and for that reason is now updating its market presence. This includes, in addition to generating international marketable products, boosting the corporate image by introducing a revised logo, website and the new claim “Expertly done.”
